Presentation Details
| Does cognitive exercise improve sleep in dogs? Hannah M.Shope, Jessica N.McAlpin, Rylie Watson, Robin Thompson, Daniel J.Horschler. Hill's Pet Nutrition, Topeka, Kansas, USA |
Abstract
Enrichment, including cognitive tests of learning and memory, can slow cognitive decline in dogs (Milgram et al., 2006), but less is known about how “cognitive exercise” may affect sleep quality. As sleep is neuroprotective, understanding the interaction between sleep and cognitive exercise is essential to advancing brain health in dogs. We hypothesized that dogs who participate in cognitive testing sleep better the following night. We assessed total sleep duration (time slept), sleep latency (time to fall asleep), and number of sleep interruptions in 13 dogs across 108 nights before (NB) and nights after (NA) cognitive testing using accelerometer-enabled wearable devices. Total sleep duration was not significantly different (7.57hrs NB vs 7.65hrs NA; p = 0.75), but we found positive changes in 8/13 dogs in the night after cognitive testing. We found a non-significant trend towards decreased sleep latency after testing (2.40hrs NB vs 1.75hrs NA; p = 0.08), which decreased in 11/13 dogs. Additionally, sleep interruptions decreased in 10/13 dogs. While not statistically significant, these trends suggest that cognitive exercise may be important for promoting healthy sleep in dogs.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
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